That most certainly was a big part of the "reasons" I had for drinking. At first drinking raised my self esteem and made me happier. It helped me structure my life, provided me with friends, made able to do things better. Of course eventually all that changed and the solution became a big problem. So clearly my life was unmanageable long before I began drinking.

By time I was ready to get sober, drinking was still fun most of the time. That was part of my problem- I needed all that instant fun. But it was very clear that soon drinking would not be any fun at all.